They’re Making Food From Alfalfa

They’re Making Food From Alfalfa New Zealand-based Leaft Foods is introducing new food ingredients made from alfalfa leaves. The company is harvesting the plant protein rubisco from the leaves and producing a protein concentrate and a protein isolate. They’ll compete in the marketplace with whey and egg protein, but are produced much more efficiently on a per-acre and cost basis. “Rubisco is a naturally occurring enzyme that’s part of the photosynthesis process,” according to Dr. John Penno, Leaft co-founder. “It’s found in all green leaves and often makes up a high proportion of the soluble fraction of the biomass of fresh, green leaves. It’s found in particularly high concentrations in alfalfa leaves.” Other firms are developing rubisco products from a variety of non-field sources, including algae. Penno notes that Leaft extracts rubisco from alfalfa grown in open fields by farmers. “Our system runs on soil, sunlight and rainfall rather than controlled tanks or ponds,” says Penno. “Alfalfa is also naturally regenerative, fixes nitrogen, builds soil health, and can be harvested multiple times a year without replanting.” Leaft is working with farmers to maximize harvestable biomass from broad-acre alfalfa. The objective is to enable the manufacture of a suite of products, prioritizing human nutrition, then pet nutrition, and then livestock nutrition, explains Penno. “Leaft Foods manufactures our ingredient products using a proprietary extraction process our team developed to isolate and preserve the rubisco,” says Penno. “They offer an essential amino acid composition and digestibility as good or better than egg and whey.” He adds that the Rubisco Protein Concentrate contains dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals derived from the leaves. It’s light green in color and works particularly well as a protein fortification in beverages. The Rubisco Protein Isolate is a white, mild-flavored ingredient. It can serve as a nutritional or functional protein, for example, by replacing eggs in bakery applications. The protein isolate and protein concentrate are available to customers in chilled liquid and frozen forms.  The company also markets an Alfalfa Protein Concentrate. It’s a non-rubisco protein, fatty acid and nutrient-rich ingredient. It’s sold to the pet industry as a meat extender. The remaining biomass that can’t be used for human and pet nutrition is being manufactured into molasses and silage products for ruminants. Penno reports that researchers have demonstrated that the silage can improve milk and beef yields while reducing nitrogen loss from the animals. “We’ve verified the research, and the products are already in demand from local dairy farmers,” says Penno. Leaft production is currently restricted to the South Island of New Zealand, but Penno expects to work with partners in the U.S. and elsewhere as the market for rubisco develops. “We’ve done limited trial work with alfalfa varieties available in California, with the potential of operating from the U.S.,” says Penno. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leaft Foods, 8 Hannover Pl., Rolleston, New Zealand (info@leaftfoods.com; www.leaftfoods.com).

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